Start Double-Roasting Your Sweet Potatoes For An Extra Crispy Bite Every Time

Sweet potatoes don't need much help in tasting wonderful, but double-roasting gives them a yummy glow-up, helping to develop crispy, candied edges and an interior that turns super soft and custardy. The technique sounds fancy, but it's really just strategic sequencing. You roast the potato once until completely tender, let it cool, then roast it again at a higher heat — easy peasy. 

Despite looking rather dense and dusty, sweet potatoes contain a lot of water, and the first slow bake evaporates that moisture while the starches gelatinize. Those starches set as the potato cools, forming a slightly tackier surface and resistant starch, which is actually gentler on blood sugar spikes than a once-cooked starch. Once the steam has escaped and the interior has settled, the potato becomes structurally ready for browning, something that's harder to accomplish when moisture is still escaping in puffs. 

Sugar is the other piece of the puzzle. Sweet potatoes have natural sugars, about 4.2 grams per 100 grams, which is high for a vegetable, but those sugars are what caramelize beautifully with different techniques. But they definitely can't do that under steam. With double-roasting, the first roast paves the way; the second invites sugars to the surface, where they darken and blister into deliciousness.

With this technique, you can use any type of knife cut your dinner needs. Go for thick wedges, halves, coins, or fermière, aka rustic chunks. It's best to coat raw potatoes in oil or butter (or both) at this point. If you also toss them in salt at this stage, it'll season them and can help pull water out through the magic of osmosis. Roast sweet potatoes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until they're fork-tender.

Once the first cook is done, the surface is primed, so drizzle on some more oil or butter and a little seasoning of your choice. Slide everything back into a hotter-than-usual oven, between 425 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on if you have a gas or electric stove (gas ovens tend to cook hotter). While the interior stays creamy from that long first cook, the exterior and edges of the spuds will begin to crisp and take on the bronzed, roasty qualities that a single pass through the oven didn't develop. The sugars will also caramelize quickly, especially if there's plenty of fat to conduct the heat or if the potatoes are more smushed since smaller pieces that stick out will get the hottest, fastest.

Flavor-wise, double-roasted sweet potatoes pretty much go with everything. Savory routes work, so add in chili crisp, garlic oil, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, browned butter with sage, or a spoon of miso melted in fat. Sweet variations are equally good as maple and flaky salt, cinnamon butter, or a splash of cider vinegar can sharpen the spuds' caramel notes. Whatever you decide, double-roasting simply lets the vegetable evolve as the first roast builds softness and sweetness, while the second intensifies flavors and draws everything toward the surface.